May 6,2022
…union up in arms as several sent home until further notice
Kaieteur News – The National Mine Workers Union of Guyana (NMWUG) is calling on the relevant authorities to investigate allegations of unfair treatment meted out to some Guyanese oil and gas workers who have been sent home from some agencies until further notice.
The workers are peeved that all of those who have been sent home are Guyanese while, in particular Trinidadian staffers, remain on the job. A statement from the President of the NMWUG, Sherwyn Downer said that not only were the employees having problems with available work, but issues also exist regarding payment of their National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributions, overtime pay and availability of safety gear among other matters.
Downer said that while the labouring masses were busy celebrating May Day across Guyana, it was not quite the same for those oil and gas workers who complained bitterly about several issues that they were facing at a named company providing services to the local oil and gas sector. “Labour Day celebrations 2022 could be deem as ‘complaints day’ for some employees in the oil and gas sector as on that day, almost two dozen workers in the above-mentioned sector, met with president of the National Mine Workers Union of Guyana to register their concerns.”
At the meeting, Downer said, the employees reported that since February 2022, about 60 to 70 local workers were sent home without pay until further notice. “Issues such as NIS, overtime pay, working conditions, safety gear and the unfair treatment of local workers in the oil and gas sector [arose]. It was reported to the Union that all locals were sent home and all foreigners were retained, namely the Trinidadians.”
He continued that workers complained about checking on their NIS contributions at the agency’s office, but by the time they got back to their work place, “their employer was already notified [about the visit] by NIS.” Some workers also complained about working over one and two years but were still not being made permanent staffers. As such, the mines union bemoaned the “preferential treatment” being meted out to foreign workers. “This is not local content or the utilization of our human resources,” Downer highlighted. To send home all locals, while retaining the Trinidadians is more costly as food and accommodations have to be provided for those foreign workers, he said.
Additional information reaching the newspaper alleges that the stipend for some Trinidadian workers is sometimes two and three times higher than the salaries received by Guyanese. However, what is even more upsetting about the situation is that the Guyanese sent home can do the very work that the Trinidadians are doing. Some of those sent home include welders, fabricators and riggers among others. The newspaper was told further that while the Guyanese workers are sent home with no pay because of a reduction in work, the Trinidadians, who will go home when the next rotation staff arrives, goes back to a job in their country since that is secured by the Trinidadian company they work for. The source told the newspaper that tax payments are also becoming a problem since workers are no longer being issued with income tax return slips.
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), which has been lending its voice to the plight of local oil and gas workers said that it too is aware of the ongoing issue. Aslim Singh, GAWU’s General Secretary said he was informed of the “sad” situation some two weeks ago.
He told the newspaper that the company in question is Guyanese and Trinidadian owned. The workers, he mentioned, are scared to talk given the connectivity of the businessman who always seem to get feedback when redress is sought. The NMWUG has nonetheless urged the government to provide the necessary protection for Guyanese in the oil and gas sector. He called on the “Offices of the Chief Labour Officer, the Minister of Labour and local content secretariat to investigate with haste, these allegations of unfair treatment of Guyanese working in the oil and gas sector."
“Our local workers are being sidelined once again according to these reports. The local workers see this action by management as unfair to retain foreigners and send home locals only. As president of the National Mine Workers Union, I wish to call for a level playfield for all employees; equal pay for both locals and foreigners and improved working conditions.”